Help with bird ID

C

coldpenguin

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I have a bird book (well a couple), but they only really help id'ing the bird, if you think you know what it might be already.

Unfortunately, it came and went quicker than I could get the camera out, so here is a description.

Imaging a blue-tit, colouring.
This bird was around 3 times as large as all of the blue-tits I have in my garden.

Instead of having a blue head, it had a black head, completely black helmet. (no white stripe above the eyes like the rest in my area have)

The belly was yellow, not green.
The wings were grey-ish tips, like a bluetit.

Unlike the bluetits I have here, this bird seemed to have very good definition, it wasn't all fluffly and fuzzy.

Any ideas? (It doesn't look like the green-tits I have seen, they don't have helmets)
 
I don't remember a black stripe, but I could be mis-remembering it.
The picture on that website looks a lot like it, I think (chest excepted), but the book I have (picture doesn't look a lot like the website), claims that the great tit is only 50% larger than a blue-tit (14cm as compared to 11.5)
 
Go to the RSPB website http://www.rspb.org.uk/ they have a bird identifier where you can put in the size, colour, etc and it gives you a list of birds that it could have been.
 
I can only think of a Great Tit which are a pretty common bird in most places mind you....

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Where did you see it it - in what type of environment, as that can be a help in identification. To be fair when you only get a fleeting glimpse ofa bird it can be difficult to give an accurate description. I'm a bit intrigued though... must admit.
 
It does sound like a great tit from your description. I have quite a few of them visit my garden every day. Lovely looking birds.

Sent from my iPhone using TP Forums
 
It was in my back garden. Your picture CT does seem similar to the colouring etc, but it was a large bird. Certainly the colour of the head of that bird could be mistaken for black. Not thrush like, but larger than a large robin/fat sparrow shape.
The info I can find on the Great Tits, they are only slight larger than a blue-tit.
This thing was bending the branches that it sat on, so it wasn't just puffed up.

Perhaps it was just a mutant!
The RSPB bird ID website, if I enter size between robin and blackbird (as basically it was bigger than a robin), there is nothing with a helmet-ish head, so it must just be unusually sized I think

Thanks all, I will have to keep an eye out, and my camera closer to hand
 
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Sounds like a great tit to me. If you're certain about the size the only thing I can think of is that it might be a goldfinch. But a great tit is much more similar to a bluetit (colouring wise and also feeding habits, shape of beak, etc.)
 
It wouldn't be a goldfinch - the OP couldn't possibly have missed the bright red splashes on the head.

It might just have been a siskin, but much more likely to have been a great tit, which is quite a lot bigger than a blue tit.
 
Great tit is the most likely candidate, but it certainly isn't 3 times the size of a blue tit though, unless it's been using steroids and working out at the gym :D
 
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I agree with the others. Your description is pretty much spot on for a great tit.

It is very easy to mistake the size of a bird, especially if you only get a fleeting view. Apart from being longer than a blue tit, the great tit is a bulkier bird which can lead to the view it is much bigger. Also all the tit family are very active birds, so until you can recognise them is often difficult to get a good look.

Dave
 
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